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Bleecker Street releases Mr. Malcolm's List only in theaters July 1st, 2022. NYC MOVIE GURU: Between entertaining the audience and provoking them emotionally, which of those elements was most challenging to tweak in the editing room? Emma Holly Jones: I would actually say entertaining the audience was most challenging. There is a lot of comedy on the cutting room floor. There was just too much to choose from. When you have a cast as talented as we have like Divian Ladwa who plays John the footman and Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Lord Cassidy, I have one of the best blooper reels, I think, in history. They gave me so much amazing comedy to keep the pace up and to keep the film going, but, obviously, you have to pick your moments wisely; whereas the emotional stuff, especially between Freida Pinto and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, was just so easily there. I could sometimes shoot them in two takes--they were that good. NYC MOVIE GURU: If Malcolm were to have made a list of his requirements for a good friend, how would the film be any different? Is there much of a difference between a good friend and a good lover? EHJ: I think that they're very intertwined. I think that a great friend is sort of the basis of a relationship in marriage. I feel very passionate about that because I literally got married two weeks ago, so I was writing my vows at this time two weeks ago. A lot of what I wrote about was the basis of the friendship. I think that Malcolm's list would be, maybe, a bit softer if he was looking for a friend. Genteel relations with good society would probably have not made the cut. As you can see in the movie, honesty is something that he massively respects and cares about, so I'm sure that that would be on the list. I think that Malcolm's list isn't actually his requirements for a bride; I think that it's what society told him that should be. I've always loved the fact that Selina is, in fact, the opposite of a lot of him which is actually why I think he falls in love with her. NYC MOVIE GURU: I think that Mr. Malcolm's List would be similar if it were set in modern times. What do you think? EHJ: I agree 100%. Literally, one of the things that me and the cast spoke about when we were filming was all of the modern parallels. We talked about how the opera is like swiping left or right on Tinder. We spoke about the caricature being, like, getting caught by the paparazzi and that ending up on the Daily Mail. Me and the cast, specifically, worked really hard to root the emotional journey of each character in the modern equivalent or parallel. So, yes, I think that there's a modern version of Mr. Malcolm's List for sure that would work just as well, but I think that it is really fun to create a fantasy world back in time. The stakes are higher in romcom that's set in a period of time. The only thing that phones really create is the question, "When Selina leaves, will Malcolm ever see her again?" That's an actual question that we can ask as an audience whereas in modern day, you can just text or email or call. I really love the romcom genre pre-phones because the romantic stakes are so high. NYC MOVIE GURU: As a director, what's the process like for you to capture a character's heart, mind and soul? Which of those elements is most challenging to capture? EHJ: I think that it's massively down to how you work with the actors because so much of the characters' soul is coming through their soul. I think it's about creating a space that's really open for dialogue, development and changing the characters. We made a lot of changes to the script a few weeks before we started shooting because we were all in Ireland during lockdown. It was pre-vaccine Covid. We had this week of rehearsals where we spoke through scenes and bonded with each other. That was a chance, I think, for the actors to allow their emotional beings into these characters' shoes. We ended up tweaking bits and pushing these characters so that our actors could connect with them on a more social and emotional level. It was sooo about creating an environment where me and the actors can have open discussions without it being so black-and-white: "How do we make this scene more heartfelt", "How do we make this scene more mindful", "How did they put those shoes on with all those feelings that they needed to feel in those moments?" We always treated it a bit like theater camp the week before. For example, Zawe Ashton and Oliver Jackson-Cohen, who play Julia and Lord Cassidy, became almost like brother and sister overnight. Watching their real friendship develop was such a joy to see because they are so funny. That massively poured out on the screen because they genuinely had that wonderful connection of mind and heart as real people. NYC MOVIE GURU: How would you define charisma? How do you think it's different from charm? EHJ: I don't know. I think that charm's a little different. I think that charm could be a bit more pompous and showy, but charisma is something undeniable. Everyone now and again, I think we've all met somebody in our lives whose presence is undeniable. I massively felt that when I met Sope Dirisu for the first time. It was very instantaneous for me. I just felt that he had all of the charism and charm of a leading man. I can't actually explain to you why. It was such a gut feeling. I think you can put on charm, but I don't think that you can fake charisma. Main Page Interviews Menu Alphabetical Menu Chronological Menu ______________________________________________________ |
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